WBRZ - Baton Rouge

BATON ROUGE - Nine parishes were approved for Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (DSNAP), formerly known as Disaster Food Stamps.

The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service approved the DSNAP for the following parishes: Ascension, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. John the Baptist and St. Tammany.

The program provides food assistance for eligible households who do not receive regular SNAP benefits and who need help buying groceries due to lost income or damages following a disaster.

Individuals should pre-apply for DSNAP prior to Wednesday either online at www.dcfs.la.gov/preapply or www.getagameplan.org or by calling 1-888-LAHELP-U (888-524-3578) between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. When applying by phone, callers should select the appropriate language and then select options 3 and 3.

The following information is required for DSNAP pre-application:
• Names, Social Security Numbers and Dates of Birth for each household member;
• Address and Parish where you currently live;
• Monthly income for each household member; and
• All liquid resources for each household member (cash on hand, checking, savings).

Households that receive regular SNAP benefits in parishes where DSNAP has been activated will automatically have additional DSNAP benefits added to their Electronic Benefit Transfer cards if they are not already receiving the maximum allotment for their household size.